Bicycles are equipped with various lighting systems and reflectors for night use. Lights and reflectors are important safety features that make a bicycle much more visible to others and help avoid accidents.
While reflectors are useful, they are not as effective as safety lights. Bicycle operators are legally required to use safety lights while riding in the dark. Safety lights currently available include detachable battery powered lights that can be mounted on the handlebars, seatpost or other portion of the bicycle frame. After parking the bicycle and locking it, the operator normally must remove these lights to prevent theft. Because these types of lights are easily detached, operators frequently forget them or lose them.
Safety lights are powered by batteries or a generator turned by the motion of the bicycle. In either case, power is limited. If batteries are used, their size and weight may be a problem if much current is needed for long periods of time. If a generator is used, the power must be supplied by extra effort on the part of the bicyclist to overcome the increased drag of the generator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,564 discloses lights inserted into the open ends of a bicycle handlebar that curve toward the rear. These lights have the disadvantage of not being visible from the front of the bicycle and also tend to be obscured by the rider's legs. U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,549 discloses a bicycle lighting system integrated into the suspension system secured to the arms of the fork crown. The lighting system preferably includes two lights configured to provide a single operating beam to illuminate the travel path. U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,782 discloses a bicycle handlebar having lights disposed along its length, such as embedded in the handlebar material. Power for the lights is supplied through jacks inserted near where the handlebar attaches to the stem of the bicycle. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0080207 discloses a battery powered lighting system integrated within portions of a bicycle frame, such as a handlebar or body assembly. The light source may comprise a plurality of light emitting diodes integrated within apertures in the frame to provide omnidirectional light that is highly visible from virtually all directions.
While the above lighting systems may be useful for their intended purposes, there is a continuing need for a lightweight, cost effective, easily implemented, forward-facing safety lighting system for bicycles.